Taking Care
by anni
Summary: J/H - Hyde is there when Jackie needs a little help


**Title: ** Taking Care

**Author:  **anni

**Email:**  asleeper@email.arizona.edu

**Disclaimers:**  I own nothing but a crappy Chevy Blazer and this computer.  

**Notes:  **This is my very first That 70s Show story and also my very first year watching the show, so I apologize if any of the voices are off.  If you feel anyone is out of character, please let me know so that I can take it into consideration for the next story I'm working on.  Also, this story is based on some slight speculation for "Bring It On Home."  And again with the also, sorry for the craptacular title.  I suck at titles.

**Feedback:**  I'll be your best friend!

The biggest and heartiest thank yous go out to Queen Mab and Gabby for all of the encouragement and help!  You ladies are pretty!

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"And yet another absolutely satisfying episode of Charlie's Angels," Eric said, leaning back into the couch and sighing softly.  "Yes, yes."

"Yes.  I agree."  Fez stared blankly at the flashing commercials, crossing his legs uncomfortably.  "It is the perfect show."

 "I think every show should be Charlie's Angels," Kelso plopped his feet up on the small round table and turned to his friends.  "I mean, if every show were Charlie's Angels, I would be watching TV all the time."

"How is that different from what we do now?"  Hyde leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's different because-"  Kelso paused, cocking his head in thought.  "Okay, no I guess you're right.  That's pretty much what we do now."

"Yes, but if Charlie's Angels were what we were watching, we'd be a lot happier than we are during, say…"  Eric held up his hand palm up.  "Colombo."

"This is true."  Fez nodded in all seriousness.  "I have no desire to see the Lieutenant run in a bikini."

The room dipped into a short uncomfortable silence.  "And on that note," Eric finally broke in, shaking the image out of his mind.  "You all are going to have to go now.  Red's not allowing me to have friends over past nine.  He says that if I'm ready to get married, I'm ready for my life to be over.  So, no friends."

"This bites, Eric."  Kelso stood, crossing his arms angrily over his chest.  "I mean, do you and Donna ever stop to think about how you're relationship effects the rest of us?  Red took your car, and therefore our rides.  Then, he fired you so that you couldn't pay for us anymore.  And now, he's taken our fun basement time.  Seriously, do you guys ever think about the rest of us?"

"Ah, right, that would be a no.  I'm a little too caught up in my own misery right now to think about yours, Kelso."  Eric strode across the room and opened the door.  "And this would be the door, so, goodnight."

"That hurts, Eric.  It really does."  Kelso sniffed, walking past Eric and bounding up the stairs.

Fez stood also, stopping at the door to turn and glare at Eric and Hyde.  "I hope you are happy.  I have to go home now, and my Bible-thumping host parents will make me read scriptures again because I am going to hell."

Eric slammed the door on Fez's retreating back and walked back to the couch.  He climbed over the back and sat along the top.  "This does suck, man.  I can't wait until next year when I can finally get away from that psycho."

Hyde stared at the blinking television screen.  "Yeah, sorry man, but Red's your dad.  And not a dad like my dad, so, he's pretty much going to be riding your ass for the rest of your life."

Eric rested his elbows on his knees and head in his hands.  "Thanks, man.  I know I can always count on you for that much needed pick me up."

"No, that's actually what you have Donna and that stack of dirty magazines for."  Hyde smiled widely.

Eric laughed.  "Ah yes.  Thanking the Lord for all things wonderful and naked in this world."

"Well, not all.  I pretty much just go for the ladies."  Hyde leaned over and punched Eric hard on the knee.  "But we all know you've always had an inkling for the love that dare not speak its name."

"For the last time, Buddy and I were just friends!" Eric exclaimed.  "And anyway, speaking of unnatural loves, how come Jackie didn't make an appearance this evening.  Donna was wondering what was up."

The smile slid immediately from Hyde's face.  "Nothings up, man."  He got up from his chair.  "I mean, she just had some cheerleading thing going on."

Eric's eyebrows dropped low on his brow as he stared at his friend.  "Oh."  He stood, too, climbing over the back of the couch to block Hyde's escape to his room.  "Is everything alright with you and Jackie?  I thought you had gotten over that thing with Kelso, but you guys seem a little weird lately."

"What?  We haven't been weird lately."  Hyde shrugged, his face remaining blank behind his tinted glasses.

"Awww.  Come on now, Steven."  A smirk slanted across Eric's features.  "Are you having a little girl problem?  How's about you tell Uncle Eric all about it."

Hyde slammed a fist hard against Eric's shoulder, smirking slightly when it caused him to stumble back. "Yeah, I'm not like you, Forman.  Just because I have a girl doesn't mean I act like one."

Eric watched as Hyde stomped back to his room, laughing at the slam of the door.  "Just know that I'm here for you, Steven, whenever you just want to open your heart."

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Hyde stood in his tiny room, staring blankly at his surroundings.  There had been no real reason to get so upset about Forman's questions.  He had just been asking about where Jackie was.  There was nothing to be mad about.

It was just, he was still so new to this whole thing with Jackie that sometimes, he just didn't know how to act.  And then, with her father going to jail, the whole 'get of my boyfriend' fiasco, and all of Kelso's crap, he sometimes wondered why he put up with any of it at all.  He didn't need this added complication, and he definitely didn't need all the emotional baggage that came with it.

And now, there was this whole new big thing to worry about.

"Whatever, man.  It's fine," he mumbled.  Toeing off his boots, he kicked them under the bed.  His shirt and jeans came off next, both draped over the back of the large recliner.  He then pulled on an old pair of grey sweatpants before dropping down onto his makeshift bed.  He pulled a MAD magazine off of his small dresser and leaned back to start reading.  "I'm not waiting.  I'm just not quite tired yet."

Time ticked by and Hyde found himself slowly growing more agitated and a little nervous.  It was 9:30, and then, just past 10:00, and looking back up at the clock one last time, he saw that it was nearly 11:00.

"Okay, whatever.  I'm just going to sleep."  He shook his head and rolled his eyes.  "And when did I start talking to myself?"

He leaned over to flip the light switch off when he heard it, a light rattling at the basement door.  Withdrawing his hand from the switch, he lay back on his bed.  And then the knob twisted, the door creaking as it slowly swung open, and there she was.

"Hi."

"Hey."  Hyde pushed himself up into a sitting position and swung his feet onto the floor.  His eyes ran over her: her expensive high-heeled boots, her long and fashionable dress, her fur-lined coat, and her perfectly coiffed hair.

She shrugged off her coat and folded it over her arm.  "I just finished… well, I had cheerleading today, but I thought that I would drop by… to see you and say goodnight."

"Right."  Hyde stumbled slightly over the word.  Jackie stood before him in all of her amazing glory but he could tell that she was nervous, that she was shaken.  He could see it in the small downward curve of her mouth and the way her eyes seemed unwilling to meet his.  Jackie was an emotional person, and never really felt the need to hide it, so seeing her so unsure of herself twisted his heart.

His gaze traveled down to the small duffel bag in her hand, and he wondered where she had gotten it.  She didn't exactly seem like the duffel bag type.

When his eyes lifted back to her face, he was surprised to find a look almost like defiance in her eyes, almost like she was daring him to turn her away, almost like she was expecting her to turn him away.

He rose from the bed and crossed the room in two long strides.  Cradling her face in his hands, he dropped a light kiss on her lips.  "Did you want to hang around for awhile?"

Her shoulders relaxed and that wide smile spread across her face.  She slid her arms around his waist and leaned up for another kiss.  "I'd love to."

Jackie stepped around him, dropped her coat on the recliner along with his other discarded clothes, and sat at the edge of his bed.  "So, how was your day?"

His eyes narrowed momentarily at her semi-forced cheerfulness.  He shrugged it off though, and settled down beside her.  She shifted to loop one leg across his lap, patting his arm to bring his attention back to her question.

"You know, the usual.  Didn't go to class, got detention, then went to work."  He smiled at her.  "Oh.  But then, after dinner, Red locked Eric out of the house for about a half hour before Mrs. Foreman let him back in, so that was pretty funny."

Jackie laughed.  "So, all in all, you had a pretty good day, huh?"

"Yeah, well, you know.  Decent."  

"I'm glad.  I had a fantastic day."  Her face brightened as she launched into every detail.  "We're going through tryouts for next year's squad right now, and I am so obviously going to be named captain.  I mean, Laura Daniels thinks that she has a chance, but with weird thing she has on her neck, you know what I'm talking about right?  That weird mole thing?  There is absolutely no way she's beating me for team captain."  

Hyde leaned back on his hands, preparing himself for what was sure to be a long conversation on all of the faults of the other girls on the cheerleading team.  As much as he hated the conformity and simplemindedness of the things that Jackie participated in, he liked listening to her talk about it.  Or rather, he liked watching her talk about it.  Her face and her eyes were just so expressionate, and she really was hot, no matter how whiny her voice got.

"But anyway, so there was this freshman trying out for the team.  And normally, freshmen don't make the varsity squad.  I did, but then hello?  It's me.  So, she's doing her try out routine and totally misses her round off and falls flat on her face!  And then, she got up, and was like, trying to finish off her dance, but her nose was all gross and kinda bloody.  Yuck.  How embarrassing for her, you know?"

"But funny for you, right?"  Hyde smirked.

"Oh yeah, definitely."  Jackie nodded enthusiastically, letting out a small giggle.  "You should have been there.  You would've loved it.  The next girl was complaining because she felt that it was unfair that she should have to go after such a gross thing-"  A loud grumble sounded deep from inside Jackie's stomach.  She stumbled over her words as a flush of red colored her cheeks.  "Well, after such a gross thing, you know, happened."

The unease spread across Hyde's back.  He straightened up, his eyes narrowing again as Jackie continued to babble on, her words frantic and a little disjointed.  "Jackie."  He spoke softly, but her mouth quickly snapped shut.  "Jackie, have you eaten anything today?"

"What?  Oh, yeah."  She waved her hand at his question.  "I had a pretty big lunch at school, so I'm, you know, I'm fine."

He was silent a moment before brushing her leg off of his and standing up.  He tried to focus only on her, shaking the memory of stale crackers covered with ketchup settling unevenly in an empty stomach.  "Well, I'm a kinda hungry, so I'm going to go make myself a sandwich.  You want?"  

Her eyes shot up to his, a look of relief passing over her features.  It passed away quickly though, and she simply nodded.  "Yeah, whatever."

Hyde nodded and turned to leave the room.  He walked quietly up the stairs and into the kitchen.  Flipping on the light switch, he turned to the fridge.

"Steven?  What are you still doing up?"

Hyde looked up to find Mrs. Foreman sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of wine.  She looked miserable sitting there in her pink robe with her hair done up in curlers.

"I couldn't sleep."  He turned back to the fridge and started pulling out the things needed for his sandwich.  He really hated lying to her.  "I thought I'd make myself a sandwich."

"Oh, well, let me do that for you."  Mrs. Foreman got up and walked over to him.  She shooed him out of the way.  "I couldn't sleep either.  This place is like a goddamn furnace."

Hyde nodded, knowing by now that it was better to just agree rather than point out the fact that it was only about 70 degrees in the house.

"And how dare Red sleep when I am so damned hot?"  She began piling lettuce, tomatoes, and turkey on the bread, her actions jerky in all her frustration.  "Does he not care about my suffering?  I'd like to see how he'd react if all the sudden he was infertile and barely a man; if it were his little men that couldn't get the job done.  I bet it wouldn't be all 'just go to sleep' and 'you're acting crazy again' if that were the case.  Am I right?"

"Uh."  Hyde winced as she plopped the top piece of bread and pressed down hard, squishing the once thick sandwich flat.  "Yeah."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Steven."  She laughed her high-pitched laugh.  "There I go again, and all you wanted was a sandwich.  I'm sorry."

"What?  I didn't notice anything."  He pulled a soda from the fridge and picked up the sandwich.

"Ah, you are a sweet boy.  Why don't you sit down and eat that sandwich and I'll get you some pudding to go along with it."  She placed one hand on his shoulder, pushing him toward the table while she turned back to the still open refrigerator.

"Oh, you know what, Mrs. Foreman?"  Hyde stepped around her, backing out of the room.  "I think that I'm just going to take this downstairs with me.  I was doing a little reading, so…"

She looked up at him with wide eyes.  "Oh, okay… you know I didn't mean to act out at you, right?"

Hyde tried to hide his wince.  "Yeah, no.  It's fine, you know that.  I just was going to finish my reading and then try sleeping again."

"Oh, okay then.  Sleep well."

Hyde blocked out the disappointment in her voice and turned to make his getaway.  He hated to treat Mrs. Foreman like that, but one over-emotional female was already way more than he was prepared to handle.

"Steven."  Her voice stopped him one last time.  He turned back to her, muffling a curse under his breath.  

"Yeah?"

"How's Jackie doing?  I didn't see her over here today."  She stepped forward and placed a hand on his forearm, the quiet caring written on her features.  "Is everything going alright with her?"

Hyde hesitated.  Mrs. Foreman could help.  She would know what to do, and she would sure as hell make certain that Jackie was eating when she needed to be.  "Well, you know…"

The caring on her face shifted down into concern and slight pity as the hand on his forearm tightened just a bit.  "I know it must all be pretty hard for her to handle."

"Actually."  He averted his eyes, remembering all that times that Mrs. Foreman had looked at him like that because he was the one having the hard time.  Her words had been soft and little bit nervous as she had offered to clean his kitchen, to do a load of laundry for him, to give him a home.  He so often tried to ignore it, but could never really shake those sad looks she would shoot him as she tried to make up for the fact that he had no parents. "I, I think she's doing okay.  You know, she's still got her hot rollers, so, she's coping."

A smile melted onto her features and the grip on his arm turned into a soft pat.  "Well, good.  I'm glad she's doing okay.  And I'm glad she has you to help her with this.  You're a good boy, Steven, and she is a lucky girl."

Hyde hunched down so that she could give him a soft kiss on the cheek.  He coughed, pushing down the slash of guilt that ran through his stomach.  "Right."

"Now, you go to sleep, mister.  You've got to be up bright and early for school."  

Hyde headed down the stairs of the basement, the familiar laugh fading the closer he got to his room.  His bare feet tingled against the cold cement of the basement floor, and the closer he got to his room, the more he realized that he just did not want to go back in there.

He stopped just outside the door, his hand resting lightly on the knob.  In there was someone he had grown to care about deeply.  He hadn't let himself care about many people in his life; no one that had been through the things he had been through would.  And now, it hurt him to have to watch one of his people go through those same things, especially when that person was Jackie, who was still so naïve to things outside of her tiny cheerleader world.  

Jackie wasn't like him.  She wasn't going to be able to just shut down her emotions.  She was nothing but emotion.  She wasn't going to be able to push the hurt away when she was finally forced to admit that there was nobody coming for her.

And he was going to end up being the one that had to pick up those pieces.

Taking a deep breath, he swung the door open and stepped inside to find that, while he was gone, Jackie had washed all of her make up off, pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, and changed into a pair of flannel pajamas, and was now sitting cross-legged on his cot, flipping through his abandoned magazine.

He raised an eyebrow, watching as she set the magazine to the side and glanced up at him from beneath her eyelashes, nibbling nervously at her bottom lip.  Gone was the earlier defiance, replaced by an almost embarrassed chagrin.  He simply nodded, walked forward to sit back down beside her, and handed her the sandwich and soda.

She smiled gratefully and took the offered plate and set the soda on his dresser.  "I thought you were going to have something too," she said around her first big bite.  "Oh, God.  I love turkey sandwiches."

"Yeah.  I decided I wasn't that hungry."  Hyde slid back until he could lean against the wall.  His eyes narrowed at how she devoured the large sandwich.

She squirmed a bit under his obvious scrutiny.  Scooting back, she snuggled awkwardly into his side.  "Thanks for the sandwich.  I guess I probably should have eaten at home earlier."

"Listen, Jackie."  Hyde coughed behind his hand, shifting around the blankets in his nervousness.  Talking had never been his strong suite.  "We really need to, you know, talk about this."

"Talk about what?"  Her eyes went big, but he could tell that she was just feigning innocence, and for some reason, that pissed him off.  She couldn't just ignore what was happening to her.

"About what, Jackie?  How about the fact that you suddenly don't have time to eat."  Hyde grasped her shoulders and turned her so that she was facing him.  "Or that on the nights that you don't come here just to 'tell me goodnight,' you're sleeping in an empty house, or that you have no parents, or that your family is going broke, or, or, or just everything else that's going on with you."

"If this is about me staying here, and it's bothering you, then I can just go home, Steven."  She shook out his grip and started to scoot away from him.

"Jackie."  His hand on her leg stopped her.  "You know that that's not the problem.  I like having you here.  I'm… I'm just worried about you is all."

"Oh, Steven."  She leaned over to him and placed a small kiss at the edge of his mouth.  "That's so sweet."

"No, Jackie.  It's not sweet."  He grabbed her hands to bring her attention fully on how serious he was.  "You need help."

Once again, her gaze shifted away from his to land on their joined hands.  "I have you."

"Yeah, Jackie, but you need more than that," he said.  "I can't give you all of the help that you need."

"You know, if anyone else said that, I would be really pissed off right now."  She shot him a wide smile, though he could see just forced it was by the hurt in her eyes.

"Don't try to laugh this off, Jackie.  It's serious, man."  His frown deepened as she tried to pull her hands away again.  "I think maybe, you know, maybe the Foreman's can help.  I mean, they're, you know.  They're-"

"Look, Steven," she said in a calm voice that he recognized so well because it was the voice he had used too often to convince people that he was fine when he really wasn't.  "I know that you're trying to help me, and I love you so much for that, but I'm fine.  So my bank accounts not as big as it used to be.  I'm trying not to care so much about material things anyway.  And so what if we don't have help at the house anymore.  There would hardly be anyone there to need the help.  And I'm sorry I haven't been eating that much lately, but you know, I have been super busy.  So, you see, I'm fine.  There's an explanation for everything."

"Jackie.  There were so many holes in that argument that I don't even know where to start," he said, meeting her forced cheerfulness with a determination of his own.  

"No, that argument was airtight, baby."  A short high-pitched giggle escaped her lips.  "And anyway, my mom is going to be home from Mexico soon, so everything will be back to normal then."

Hyde stopped then, watching as her expression told of hope and assurance and her eyes absolutely broke under the lie.  Her mom wasn't coming back and they both knew it.  

He remembered back to a time when Foreman had had to look him in the eye and tell him that very truth, and he remembered how that was the most horrible thing he had ever experienced.  Hurt, anger, sorrow, embarrassment, and shame all piled into the simple phrase, 'she's not coming back.' 

He couldn't be the person to tell Jackie that.  He couldn't be the person to break her heart that way.  Not yet.

"Right, she'll be back real soon."  He choked on the words, and for the first time that night, he was the one who couldn't meet her gaze.

They sat in silence for a few moments, and when Hyde looked back over at her, she was polishing off the last of the sandwich.  "You know, if you keep eating like that, you're going to end up with the body of a lumberjack."

"AH!" she screeched around the last bite.  "You jerk!"

"You've already got the flannel for it."  He let a small smile curve his lips at the smack of her hand on his thigh.  She leaned over to put the plate on his dresser as he reached out to finger the hem of her top.  "Seriously, Jackie.  If you're going to be staying here, we need to have a little talk about sleepwear.  Flannel?  Yeah, that's just not going to cut it."

"It's too cold down here to wear anything less," she said, batting his hand away.

His fingers encircled her wrist and he pulled her towards him, wrapped his arm around her waist, and settled her into his lap.  "I can warm you right up, baby."

Her eyes opened wide as she stared at his playful leer, and after a moment of silence, she broke into giggles.  "Did you really just say that to me?  Oooh, Steven Hyde, making with the sweet talk."

The smile slid from his face as he watched her laugh at him.  He couldn't even believe that he had said something so cheesy.  "Yeah, I think that you need to work on being quiet now," he said, pushing her away slightly.

Her hands went up to frame his face and her lips puckered up into a kissy face.  "Oh come on now, Steven," she said in sugary, sing-song voice.  "I thought you were going to warm me up."

His hands came up to grasp her wrists and pull them away.  "Did you want to stay here tonight or not?  You're going to need to quit it if you do."

"But that was so romantic, Steven."  Despite her teasing, he was begrudgingly happy to see that light back in her eyes.  "Don't go ruining that by being you."

"I said stop it."

"And I said no," she shot right back.  "I want you to warm me up, baby."

He laughed despite himself and slid an arm across her back to pull her closer.  "Fine, if that's how you want it."

His grip on her waist tightened while his other hand started poking lightly at her stomach.  The giant grin morphed into a look of panic as his tickling spread across her ribcage around to her sides.

"No, Steven, stop it!"  Her hands slid down his chest to try and push him away as she wriggled on his lap.  "I, I mean it!"

"But Jackie, I'm warming you up, just like you wanted."  He gripped one hip just tightly enough to keep her steady without hurting her, and used his free hand to slip under the heavy material of her flannel night shirt.  

She jerked in his arms as his skin came into contact with hers, twisting as his fingers counting their way up and down her ribs.  "I'm gonna, I'm gonna get you for this."

"Jackie.  You really need to quiet down. You don't want the Foreman's to hear."

The cot creaked dangerously beneath them as Jackie struggled to get free of his wandering fingers.  She shifted to rise up on her knees, her hands clenching over his bare shoulders as she fought to get away.  His hand skittered around onto her back and settled just above her waist, pulling her against his chest so that she was tighter in his grasp.

And the moment shifted then.  Jackie wasn't giggling anymore and she wasn't trying to push him away.  Instead, it felt like she was clinging to him for dear life.  

Hyde's hands stopped there tickling, moving to slide across her back and pull her as close to him as he could. One hand settled at small of back and one between her shoulder blades.  He felt her hot breath against his ear as she buried her face in his neck.  A few silent moments passed before her shoulders shook once in a quiet sob.

"Thank you."

Her voice was so small that if she hadn't been pressed against his ear, he probably wouldn't have heard her.  He nodded against her shoulder and tightened his grip on her waist momentarily before pulling away.

"We should probably get to sleep."

She nodded, smiling up at him shyly, before scooting toward the head of the bed and lifting the rumpled covers.  He watched as she slid under the blankets and settled down into the pillows.  

He shook his head.  It was amazing how quickly she could switch moods.  One minute she was nearly crying, and now, she was ready for sleep and perfectly comfortable being a bed hog.

"You know you're going to have to move over, right?"  He crawled forward, leaning over to flip off the light switch, slipped under the blankets beside her, and pushed lightly at her shoulder.

"But, Steven."  He raised an eyebrow at her whiny tone.  "I need lots of room when I sleep."

"Well, I'm sorry, princess."  He laid down on his back as she reluctantly wiggled about an inch over.  "But there isn't a lot of room here."  His hand patted her hip, forcing her over just a little bit further as his shoulder was still hanging a little over the side.

Jackie moved suddenly, the cot swaying awkwardly under her quick movement, and snuggled into the crook of Hyde's arm.  Her ponytail fell off to the side, tickling against his shoulder, and her legs intertwined themselves with his.  He sat still for a moment, just getting used to the new sensation of her body heat soaking into his skin.

"You're definitely going to have to move over now."  His voice was soft and teasing, and he let his arm come up to encircle her shoulders, snuggling her even closer to him.

She leaned up and dropped a soft, moist kiss against his collarbone.  "Good night," she whispered.

Hyde could tell that she had soon dropped off to sleep by the light evening out of her breath against his chest.  She felt so small and so vulnerable curled up beside him, and he made a choice then.

He had been abandoned a lot in his life, and he had been let down, but he wasn't going to do that to her.  He was just going to be there for her, in whatever way she wanted him to be.  If she didn't want anyone else's help, then he wouldn't make her take it.  

He would just do everything he could to ensure that she never felt as alone as he had.

Leaning forward, he placed a light kiss on the crown of her head and then let sleep wash over him.

They could take care of whatever came tomorrow, tomorrow.


End file.
